Veganuary

Having experimented with vegetaranism in the past (buying and cooking only vegetarian food for a year), and knowing the impact that animal-based agriculture has on the planet, I was intrigued to give Veganuary a go. It comes at that time of year when I want to try a bit of healthy eating anyway, and I'd just happened to have a look at the one vegan cookbook on my shelf, Vegan Feasts by Rose Elliot, a few weeks beforehand.

Things got off to a slow start, seeing as I wanted to clean my freezer out first and there was a lot of meat and fish in there! I also had a good clearout of my food cupboards, so they are looking much tidier and I have a better idea of what's in them! But I properly got started about a week in to the month.

The first thing I did was to write a lot of lists - of meals to cook and of food to buy. I had a look at my cookbooks and online for ideas. Some of the meals on my list were mushroom and stout pie; a kale, black bean and avocado rice bowl; sweet potato, black bean and rice bowl; kale salad with carrot, avocado and tofu; satay sauce with sweet potatoes and rice; tomato and kale spaghetti; tofu scramble; peanut butter, cranberry sauce, carrot and sultana toasties, and much more! I know my local supermakets don't have black beans, so I made sure to pick a couple of packs up when I was in Glasgow. I was also lucky that Asda had kale in stock, because they don't always have it and a lot of my meals were based on it!

It wasn't that difficult to come up with meal ideas, since I tend to eat a lot of meals that are either vegan or vegetarian anyway. I also generally use soya milk so that was fine. I did find coming up with snack ideas a bit more challenging, though, as I do love a bit of cheese! However, I'd been getting into snacking on fruit recently anyway, and I also like things such as roasted chickpeas and kale chips.

I love trying new foods and a challenge like Veganuary is a great way to introduce yourself to different foods. And it's also great to know I'm doing my bit for the environment and animal welfare and my own health. I'll be thinking much more carefully about what I eat in future!